New Business Hub Coming to Brooklyn Navy Yard

An industrial complex on Brooklyn's waterfront is getting a makeover.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that New York City will spend $73.1 million from its capital fund to refurbish a 1 million-square foot building in the Navy Yard, as part of a plan to attract new manufacturing tenants. Another $67 million is coming from the Brooklyn Navy Yard Corporation, the City Council and the Brooklyn Borough President's Office.

The de Blasio administration said the project will add 3,000 jobs to the Navy Yard, an increase of 40 percent.

Two tenants that are ready to move in are Shiel Medical Laboratories, a medical diagnostics lab, and FXE Industries, a motorcycle design startup. The mayor said the Navy Yard will expand placement and training services at its employment center in order to hire more local residents.

The building, Building 77, was erected in about six months in the buildup to World War II and was used for storage until four years ago, Navy Yard President David Ehrenberg said.

The project is slated to be finished in 2016.